The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020)
This article explored the development of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Thailand between 2015 and 2020. This research aimed to study the main players and examine their goals, strategies, and operations in the EV charging business as well as the key issues that these charging operators ha...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | World Electric Vehicle Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/12/1/2 |
| _version_ | 1797543480557305856 |
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| author | Trin Thananusak Prattana Punnakitikashem Sitthichai Tanthasith Boonying Kongarchapatara |
| author_facet | Trin Thananusak Prattana Punnakitikashem Sitthichai Tanthasith Boonying Kongarchapatara |
| author_sort | Trin Thananusak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explored the development of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Thailand between 2015 and 2020. This research aimed to study the main players and examine their goals, strategies, and operations in the EV charging business as well as the key issues that these charging operators have encountered in developing charging stations. The authors collected qualitative data (direct interviews with managers, video interviews, news, research articles, industry reports and press releases of EV charging operators) and used a constant comparison approach to analyze the data. The study found that after 2015, the Thai government created technology-push policies to kick-start the investment in the EV charging station business (such as subsidies for charging stations, setting a temporary selling price for electricity and building an EV charging consortium). The main players in the Thai charging business include: (1) oil and gas companies; (2) electricity state enterprises; (3) green energy companies; (4) start-ups; and (5) automotive companies. The goals of investing in the charging business for the oil and gas incumbents were to find a new growth engine and to prepare for the potential disruption in the energy sector whereas the green energy companies and start-ups wanted to capture customer bases in this promising industry. These players tended to use a partnership strategy to expand charging networks at key locations (malls, restaurants, offices). Regarding the key issues in expanding the EV charging network, the operators suggested that the high upfront investment costs, small number of EV users, and the high electricity prices (from the demand charge and usage guarantee fee) make them ‘wait-and-see’ and cautiously expand the charging network. Finally, we found that the government tried to address the constraints by setting up a national EV policy committee to accelerate EV adoption and EV charging stations in Thailand. The committee also set a fixed and reduced electricity price for charging operators. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:45:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-194cc00c7c4543c183a08b2d934b6e46 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2032-6653 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:45:12Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | World Electric Vehicle Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-194cc00c7c4543c183a08b2d934b6e462023-11-21T02:37:13ZengMDPI AGWorld Electric Vehicle Journal2032-66532020-12-01121210.3390/wevj12010002The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020)Trin Thananusak0Prattana Punnakitikashem1Sitthichai Tanthasith2Boonying Kongarchapatara3College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, ThailandCollege of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, ThailandOffice of the Civil Service Commission, Nonthaburi 11000, ThailandCollege of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, ThailandThis article explored the development of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Thailand between 2015 and 2020. This research aimed to study the main players and examine their goals, strategies, and operations in the EV charging business as well as the key issues that these charging operators have encountered in developing charging stations. The authors collected qualitative data (direct interviews with managers, video interviews, news, research articles, industry reports and press releases of EV charging operators) and used a constant comparison approach to analyze the data. The study found that after 2015, the Thai government created technology-push policies to kick-start the investment in the EV charging station business (such as subsidies for charging stations, setting a temporary selling price for electricity and building an EV charging consortium). The main players in the Thai charging business include: (1) oil and gas companies; (2) electricity state enterprises; (3) green energy companies; (4) start-ups; and (5) automotive companies. The goals of investing in the charging business for the oil and gas incumbents were to find a new growth engine and to prepare for the potential disruption in the energy sector whereas the green energy companies and start-ups wanted to capture customer bases in this promising industry. These players tended to use a partnership strategy to expand charging networks at key locations (malls, restaurants, offices). Regarding the key issues in expanding the EV charging network, the operators suggested that the high upfront investment costs, small number of EV users, and the high electricity prices (from the demand charge and usage guarantee fee) make them ‘wait-and-see’ and cautiously expand the charging network. Finally, we found that the government tried to address the constraints by setting up a national EV policy committee to accelerate EV adoption and EV charging stations in Thailand. The committee also set a fixed and reduced electricity price for charging operators.https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/12/1/2Thailandelectric vehiclescharging stationspoliciesissueskey players |
| spellingShingle | Trin Thananusak Prattana Punnakitikashem Sitthichai Tanthasith Boonying Kongarchapatara The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020) World Electric Vehicle Journal Thailand electric vehicles charging stations policies issues key players |
| title | The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020) |
| title_full | The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020) |
| title_fullStr | The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020) |
| title_short | The Development of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Thailand: Policies, Players, and Key Issues (2015–2020) |
| title_sort | development of electric vehicle charging stations in thailand policies players and key issues 2015 2020 |
| topic | Thailand electric vehicles charging stations policies issues key players |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/12/1/2 |
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